An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog

“An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog” maintains a consistent alternating pattern of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter. The first line contains eight syllables, the second line contains six, and so on accordingly. The rhyme scheme is abab, with simple, masculine rhymes like “sad” (Line 25) and “mad” (Line 27) at the end of each line. The poem’s narrative spans eight quatrains, with each stanza completing its one thought and sentence. With its simplistic rhyming structure, “wondrous short” (Line 3) length, humorous story and plot twists, and songlike meter and rhythm, Goldsmith’s poem incorporates many elements of ballad or even nursery rhyme style poetry.

Satire is a genre of poetry or prose that uses exaggerated or ludicrous humor to criticize something, like a particular person, society, group, or idea. Parody is closely related to and shares much in common with the satirical genre, although a parody typically mimics and satirizes another literary genre rather than a person or political idea. The purpose of “An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog” is hardly biting social commentary or political satire, but the poem does satirize or parody the genre of elegies.